SCORE one for the rule of law in Haiti. Late Friday night, Haiti’s electoral council deemed Wyclef Jean, the Haitian-born hip-hop star, ineligible to run for the presidency. Presumably, the council acted on a straightforward interpretation of the Haitian constitution, which requires presidential aspirants to have lived in the country for the five years preceding the date of the election, November 28th. Mr Jean lives in the United States.9

“ELECTION time is coming,” begins one song by Wyclef Jean, the Haitian hip-hop star. “If I was president, I’d get elected on Friday, assassinated on Saturday, and buried on Sunday.” Now that Mr Jean may very well become president of his country, his fans and countrymen will have to hope the latter part of his apocalyptic vision does not come true. He is widely expected to announce his candidacy in Haiti’s November 28th election during an appearance on Larry King Live, a television programme, this Thursday night.23